Harry Potter and the Gift of Freyr
by Chaosweaver6139
Summary: When Sirius is freed from Azkaban, he takes Harry and the gang to Norway for a little R&R. One should know that nothing relaxing ever happens to Harry Potter. Will eventually contain Adult content.
1. Chapter 1

**Weaver of Chaos here, again. I'll be honest, I never thought I'd be writing a Harry Potter fan fiction. I mean, I liked the story, to a point, and the things other writers have done here can be quite amazing, but I never considered myself a HUGE fan. Unfortunately for me, my brain took the decision away from me, and started forming this in my head. I hope you enjoy it, and any glaring mistakes I make, such as ages of characters are accidental, and I appreciate being informed of my screw-ups.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing concerned with the intellectual property known as Harry Potter. There is no profit made by me for this story, and only the plot is mine.**

**Without further ado…**

Sirius Black adjusted the charcoal grey sport coat he was wearing as he walked up the steps to Number Four, Privet Drive. How the Muggles could wear such restrictive clothing was beyond him. Luckily, having spent time with Lily and James after they all graduated, he had a much better fashion sense than oh, say, Arthur Weasley. Of course, he would have been fine with wearing a Troll's used loincloth on his head today. It was Sirius' first summer as a free man, and he was going to take Harry and his little friends on holiday to Norway.

He pulled out and checked his pocket watch, scratching his freshly trimmed beard absently. "Right on time." He muttered to himself as he reached out to knock on the excessively generic door of the obscenely normal home. Suddenly the door flew open and Sirius barely had time to duck a flying owl cage before a rather heavy trunk thumped into his chest.

"Boy! Where do you think you're going?" Vernon Dursley bellowed from inside. "Don't make me get my belt, you freak!"

Sirius winced when he heard that word, as he thought Harry had just been exaggerating his stories. He quickly put down the trunk and stepped inside the house, and into a scene of complete and utter chaos. Dudley was hanging from the ceiling in naught but his knickers, every inch of his skin shifting through all the colours of the rainbow. Petunia was being chased through the kitchen by brooms, mops, ladles, and even a cast-iron pan. Vernon, the man that was yelling for Harry, was trying to swat the household items away from his wife, without much success, Sirius noted with a smirk. 'He's well on his way to becoming a Marauder in his own right.'

"Don't strain yourself, you fat sod!" Harry yelled back as he came down the stairs, and with a flick of his wrist, a half-dozen paper canaries started fluttering around Dudley's head, easily dodging his attempts to swat them away. "Did you really think you could treat me like you have for the last 12 years and not have it come back to bite you in the arse?"

"You think you're offered the same protections as real humans, boy? You're a freak, a monster! They'll put you down like a rabid animal for this!" Vernon shouted, his face turning a violent shade of purple.

"How dare you!" Sirius roared, bringing the entire house to a dead stop, even the canaries had stopped flapping their paper wings. He stalked into the kitchen, looking every bit the cold-blooded killer that, until recently, the Wizarding World thought him to be. "Harry is your family, having lost both his parents, your own wife's sister and brother-in-law. Against my wishes, Harry was brought here, and you were told to bring him up in a loving home. Yet I walk through this door and see you Muggles treating him as though he were your own personal House-Elf! Now you threaten to have him killed? Put down like a rabid dog?" Sirius smirked, a devilish idea racing through his mind. "I could show you a rabid dog if you like." He leaned forward and was about to morph into his Grim form when Harry put a hand on his shoulder.

Harry had felt the familiar prickles of Magic that signified Sirius was about to change, but the last thing that Harry wanted was for him to have to deal with the authorities again so soon. He put his hand on the Animagus' shoulder and said calmly, "They're not worth it, Sirius. I got my revenge."

The tall man looked into the eyes of his Godson, and, while his face screamed how much he would love to see Sirius scare the Dursleys into oblivion, just like James would have, Lily's eyes stared back at him, a silent admonition, telling him that enough was enough. "You're right, I'm sorry Harry." He surveyed the scene again and whistled. "Quite the display you've got here. Been spending time with those Weasley twins, I take it?"

"Naturally." Harry smirked, matching James' goofy grin perfectly. "One last thing. _Petrificus Totalis._" He watched as Vernon tipped forward, his enormous frame crashing, face first, to the floor.

"He definitely deserved that. Main problem, though, is that you're still an underage Wizard, Harry. As we speak, I'm sure an Auror is on his way to write you up a nice little fine and report back to his superiors that the Boy-Who-Lived thinks the rules don't apply to him."

Harry's grin only widened. "That's why you're here, Sirius. You walked in on the Dursleys here abusing me, and you felt that they needed to be taught a lesson. Unfortunately, you got a little carried away."

"Well, he did say that he was going to take his belt to you." Sirius mused. "I can't believe you would prank your own Godfather like this, Harry." He stated, barking with laughter. "Better put your wand away, Harry."

No sooner had Harry done so, than a familiar crack sounded outside the house. Harry and Sirius exchanged grins and walked to the door to see a young woman in Auror's robes and- "Pink hair? Nymphadora?" Sirius' laughter echoed in the entryway. When did little Nymphadora become an Auror?" He was about to walk forward and give his young cousin a great big hug when he was hit by a jelly legs jinx, sending him tumbling onto his arse.

"Why does every single person think that they can call me by that bloody name?" The woman stalked forward, wand still pointed at Sirius. Harry had time to get a fairly good look at her, and a good look it was. Her heart-shaped face, though pulled into an angry scowl, was a very pleasant sight, and combined with the pink hair, stirred feelings in the young boy that he did not understand, but reminded him of the time that Hermione hugged him before the end of the year and he felt two soft somethings press against his chest.

"That's Junior Auror Tonks to you, Mister." She saw something in the grin of the seated man, and recognition suddenly dawned on her. "Sirius? Sirius, is that you? What the bloody hell are you doing here?" She asked as she ended the jinx, helping her cousin to his feet.

"Well, if you read the news, a bunch of Hogwarts students managed to prove my innocence. And so, in order to pay them back for my freedom, I'm taking Harry and his friends to Norway" Sirius smiled, putting a hand on his Godson's shoulder.

"Harry? Harry Potter?" Tonks asked, finally noticing the slack-jawed boy that stood just outside the door. She looked him up and down. 'A bit skinnier than I thought he would be, and what's with those clothes? He looks like a homeless person.' She thought, silently appraising him. 'But, he's got the scar.' She looked into his eyes, a rich, emerald green, and almost seemed to get lost. Despite the awe-struck amazement that she could easily read in his eyes and on his face, she could also see a chilled, haunting loneliness lurking just behind the surface. She leaned in for a closer inspection, and when he made no signs that anyone was home, she called out to him. "Wotcher, Harry." She watched him snap his mouth shut, realize he had been staring, and begin to blush profusely. 'What a cute kid.'

Sirius noticed the whole exchange, and even noticed that Tonks' hair had shifted colors to a light shade of violet for a moment. 'Oh, I could have some fun with this. Tease Harry a bit and get back at him for putting me in this position in the first place.' "Hey, Nym- I mean Tonks," He started, trying to get her attention away from Harry for a moment.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you could come with us." Sirius said, his face straight, not letting on to what he was thinking. "I know you've got your Auror duties now, but I'll be dealing with four children, and two of them are Weasleys, and I'm sure I'll need some help keeping them in line."

Harry recovered from his stupor and looked questioningly up at his Godfather. "Oh? And who exactly is going to keep you in line, Sirius?" The question caused Tonks to laugh, earning a slight blush from the boy.

Sirius held his hands over his heart and swooned. "You wound me, Harry. I thought I was playing the part of responsible adult very well."

"You're a bloody terrible actor, Sirius." Harry laughed, causing Tonks to giggle as well. Harry's cheeks lit up like a Christmas tree, and he began to study her boots. "S-so would you like to come?"

Sirius tried once again to look serious, and of course failing as he watched his Godson stumble over his words. "I think it would be a great idea, Tonks. It would give you an opportunity to help me get up to speed on family activities, I'm dying to know what Andy's been up to."

"I'll check with Shack." She was about to apparate when her face scrunched up. "Oh, bugger. I was supposed to find out why there was so much magic going on here." She marched through the door, past Harry and Sirius, and into what she could only describe as, "Bloody hell."

Sirius scratched the back of his head in his best impression of a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Yeah, sorry about all this. I came to pick up Harry so we could go to Gringotts, and when I walked in the door, I saw big tubby here beating on the poor boy, 'little' tubby here getting in kicks where he could, and Mum tubby whacking him with a wooden spoon."

Harry lifted his shirt slightly, showing off the bruises that had been inflicted on his scrawny frame during the first week of the summer holiday. Tonks looked at the boy's torso, noticing that he was very malnourished as well as quite tenderized. "They did all this to you?"

Tucking the ratty shirt back into his too-big trousers, Harry nodded meekly. "This and more. They've been horrible to me all my life."

Tonks stood over Vernon's frozen form. "I'm sure Madam Bones would be very interested in hearing that story sometime soon, Harry." With that, Tonks wound back and kicked Vernon square in the crown jewels as hard as she could. Harry stood there wide-eyed, while Sirius was slack-jawed. "Darn, I am just so clumsy, I went and tripped." She said in her most innocent voice. "You two go on ahead, I'll clean up the mess and obliviate these monsters. I'll meet up with you after I report to Shack."

Sirius held in his laughter for once, settling for a lopsided grin. "Alright. Meet us at Gringotts in an hour, there's something you'll want to see." With that, He picked up Harry's trunk and the two of them stepped onto the waiting Knight Bus.

"You wankers are lucky I can't hex your bits off." Tonks said to the Dursleys as she set about her work.

After nearly a half an hour, Tonks finally stood outside Kingsley Shacklebolt's office. She knocked on the door, and when he bade her to enter, she did, taking a seat in the chair opposite his desk.

"Well, Junior Auror Tonks, tell me; what was causing the large amount of Magic at the Dursley residence?" He asked, not even looking up from the stack of parchment on his desk.

Tonks' brow furrowed in anger, and her eyes flickered with an orange tint. "When I arrived at the residence, Sirius Black informed me that when he arrived to retrieve Harry Potter for a holiday to Norway, the entire Dursley family had been beating him with various objects. Lord Black is highly protective of the young Mister Potter, as he is Harry's Godfather, and when he saw the scene, he began to jinx and charm the Dursley family." Tonks' face finally broke into a smile. "He had the boy hanging from the ceiling with his skin charmed to turn all the colors of the rainbow, it was bloody brilliant." She noticed that Kingsley had raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I-I mean, I reversed the spells and obliviated the Muggles, letting Lord Black and Mister Potter continue about their business."

"Very good, Tonks. If there is nothing else, I will expect the full report on my desk in the morning." He stated, shifting the pile slightly.

"Two things, actually, Sir." She always hated formalities. "The first is that I wish to open an investigation into the living conditions of Harry Potter. I understand he was placed there by Albus Dumbledore for some reason, but the environment was highly abusive. I've seen the bruises on his stomach, Shack."

"I'll have paperwork filed to do so. The other thing?"

"I was wondering if I could take some time off to join Harry and Sirius on their holiday. Sirius has asked me to help him get up to speed on family affairs, and Harry is Harry-Bleedin-Potter."

Kingsley managed a smirk at that. "What's this, Junior Auror Tonks? Are you telling me that you are fancying a thirteen year-old boy?"

"That's not what I meant at all, Shack." She stuttered. "I mean, every little girl would dream about having the Boy-Who-Lived swoop in and carry them away. But he needs people to talk to, Shack, from what I saw in his eyes today, he'll be at St. Mungo's asylum ward by the age of 17."

"Touching." He replied, face once again stoic. "Request denied."

"Oi, that's not fair!" Tonks shouted from her seat.

Kingsley cleared his throat, silencing the young woman. "You can not go on holiday, because you have a mission of utmost importance. One, that if you complete, will bring you to full Auror status." He pulled a piece of parchment from the middle of the pile he was working on.

"You mean no more crap duties after this?" Her now Crystal blue eyes sparkled.

"Indeed. As you may be aware, there was an incident at Hogwarts near the end of the year involving Dementors. A number of the persons-of-interest involved in the incident will be leaving England for a short time until the situation is resolved. You are responsible for their safe journey to and from their destination. Here are your orders." Kingsley handed her the parchment.

She looked it over, her eyes growing progressively wider. "This is-"

"It is, Junior Auror Tonks. And if I am not mistaken, you are to meet your charges at Gringotts in less than fifteen minutes. I highly suggest you get yourself mobilized."

"You're a right arse, you know that, Shack?" She said, a playful glare set on her face.

"Perhaps, but I am also your superior." He grinned wide as she took a step back. "Besides, this was all your cousin's idea. Now, I suggest you hurry, lest you miss your meeting with them at Gringotts."

"Oh bugger!" She cursed before running out the door to the Floo Network.

Ignoring the people that stared at her as she ran through Diagon Alley, Tonks skidded to a halt in front of Gringotts. She looked around but did not see Sirius or Harry. "Probably inside, already. She stepped inside and saw Sirius and Harry being led away by a Goblin, and that Harry had on a new pair of blue-jeans and a maroon button-down t-shirt with gold trim that actually fit. 'So that's how they spent their hour.' "Harry, Sirius, hold up!"

"Told you she'd make it, Harry, now pay up." Sirius laughed as he palmed the three Galleons Harry grudgingly gave him. "Hurry up, Tonks, you're gonna love this."

When she joined the group, she gave a slight wave to Harry. "Wotcher, Harry. So, what are you up to this time, Sirius?"

"Just a few things to take care of as the Head of House Black, and we're going to take care of Harry's inheritance as the Last Potter at the same time, hopefully."

"Director Ragnok will see you now." The Goblin said as he opened a large golden door.

"Thank you, Griphook." Harry responded as he walked through the door behind Sirius and Tonks.

Harry, Sirius and Tonks took their seats across the desk from a large Goblin that was adorned in many golden necklaces, bracelets and rings with shimmering gems. Piled high on the corner of the desk were ledgers, folders and various parchments ready for the day's business. "Good morning, Lord Black, Auror Tonks, and if I'm not mistaken, Lord Potter."

Harry looked up to meet the decorated Goblin's gaze. "I'm not Lord of anything, Director Ragnok, I'm just Harry."

Ragnok grinned, his sharp teeth glittering as heavily as his adornments. "Well, 'Just Harry', I am proud to inform you that the seal that had been placed on your parent's will shattered earlier this morning, leaving you with the title of Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, as well as a number of vaults, properties, investments and businesses." At this, Ragnok took half of the pile and placed it on the other side of the desk, muttering something about contracts that everyone missed. "However, we will address those matters on a different day. The only thing you must do at the moment is to place a single drop of your blood on this box here to receive your House of Potter Ring." He pulled a small black box and an ornate golden dagger from his desk and set it in front of Harry.

Harry picked up the dagger and pricked his finger, wincing as he watched the blood begin to gather as soon as he set down the blade. The droplet fell from his finger and hit the top of the box. However, instead of splashing as it should have, the blood simply seemed to fall into and through the lid. There was a small red flash, and the top of the box began to simply dissolve. "Wicked." Harry mumbled, no matter what he saw in his life, there was always something new about the Magical World that would fascinate him. He looked at the ring, seeing the simple, yet ornate crest that seemed to melt into the band. He picked it up and placed it on his finger, feeling a sudden rush of magic that left him a tad light-headed. He also noticed that his new shirt and pants felt a bit tighter than they were when he had first gotten to Gringotts.

"Interesting." Sirius mused. "Looks like your magic was a bit blocked up, Harry."

"What do you mean, 'blocked up'?" Harry asked, arching an eyebrow.

"He means that you just had something of a magical growth spurt, Harry." Tonks laughed, albeit a tad nervously. She couldn't help but notice that he had grown about seven centimeters and put on what seemed to be at least a stone's worth of muscle, making him look more lean than scrawny, like a runner. She fought her rising blush and smiled. "Looks good on ya."

Harry was unable to fight his blush, so he simply studied the new ring on his finger.

Sirius nearly fell out of his chair laughing, but managed to control himself finally. "Shall we move on to the next two bits, Director?"

"I believe we shall." The Goblin smiled his toothy grin once again.

"Very well." Sirius stood up and raised his wand so it was pointing straight up. "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, do so reinstate Andromeda Tonks and her family into the House of Black. So mote it be." With that, the room flashed white as the magic accepted his declaration.

Tonks squealed in delight. "Mum'll be so happy, Sirius."

"I know, kiddo." He then smiled at Harry. "You'll like this one, Harry. I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, do so formally adopt Harry James Potter, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, becoming his Legal and Magical Guardian, and name him as Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. So mote it be." There was another flash of magic, and Sirius looked down at Harry, who was positively beaming.

Harry finally felt he belonged somewhere, and was beyond words. The feeling only intensified when Tonks wrapped her arms around Harry's neck. "Congrats, Harry, welcome to the family!"

"A pleasure, I'm sure." He said with a lopsided grin. Family, that word sounded like heaven to Harry, and he'd be damned if he was going to lose that to anyone ever again.

Ragnok quickly shuffled through the parchments on his desk, having Sirius sign a few copies of certain things. Finally finished, He pulled a small red and gold bag with the Potter crest on it and handed it to Harry. "This pouch is a direct line to the Potter Family vault, Harry. Simply think of the amount you require and reach inside. I will warn you, however, that any other hand than yours that attempts to retrieve gold from this pouch, will find their hand missing." His lips curled into a vicious grin, truly loving the security measure he had placed on the sack.

"Thank you, Sir."

Sirius clapped his hands together and smiled. "Now that we've taken care of business, how about we head over to the Burrow and pick up the rest of our little traveling party?"

"Great idea." Harry smiled broadly. True, he had only just seen them two weeks ago when the term let out, but any time he spent with his friends and surrogate family was a good time, as it meant no Dursleys. 'Oh well, at least I won't have to go back there ever again.' He thought to himself.

Once they had left Gringotts, Sirius Side-along Apparated Harry to the front steps of the Burrow, and with a soft crack of her own, Tonks appeared next to them. They could hear what sounded like an argument from the other side of the door. Harry knocked on the door and after some more shouting, a rather frazzled Hermione opened the door.

"Oh, Harry, Sirius, you're finally here. You've got to do something, Missus Weasley's on a bit of a tear" She said quickly as she ushered them inside.

"What happened, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Well-" She started, only to be interrupted by Molly throwing up her arms in frustration and storming up the stairs, everyone in the house being stunned into silence.

Everyone except the twins, of course. "Ickle Ronnikins decided to get in an argument with Mum." George started cheerfully.

"By the end, they were both yelling about who knows what." Fred continued.

"And it ended with Mum grounding him for the summer." They finished together.

"That's no good. You kids wait down here, I'll go talk to Molly." Sirius clapped a hand on a rather sullen-looking Ron's shoulder as he walked by.

"Ron, Mate, what were you arguing about, anyway?" Harry asked as he, Hermione, Tonks, the twins and Ginny made their way to the kitchen to sit at the table.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Harry, but it looks like I might not be going with you guys on that trip." Ron sighed heavily. "And I was right looking forward to it, too."

"Cheer up, Ron. It's not all bad."

"Gred is right. You can be our official guinea pig for the whole summer."

"Well said, Forge." The two pranksters laughed as Ron's face paled considerably. They continued laughing and plotting all the way to their room.

A loud thump signaled Ron's head falling to the table. "This kind of thing wouldn't happen to me if I had a theme song." He groaned.

"Seriously, Ron?" Hermione huffed, completely blown away by his lack of logic.

"Yeah, something that tells people about how bold, and brave I am." Ron's voice took on a dreamy quality, and he was looking through the window, obviously imagining himself as some kind of great hero.

'Brave and bold, huh?' Harry thought, trying to remember something he had heard or seen, and it suddenly hit him. Dudley had been watching the Telly, and a comedy about King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail had been playing. With a smirk, Harry remembered the words quite clearly. "Hey, Ron, I think I've got a theme for you."

"Yeah? Let's hear it, Mate." Ron's face lit up like it was Christmas morning.

Harry cleared his throat and began to sing. "Bravely bold Sir Ron, rode forth from Hogwarts."

"I like the way this is starting out." Ron beamed.

"He was not afraid to die, oh, Brave sir Ron. He was not at all afraid, to be killed in nasty ways. Brave, brave, brave Sir Ron." Harry's smirk widened as he watched Ron's face start to fall.

"Oh, I know this one!" Tonks exclaimed, joining Harry in his singing.

"He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp. Or to have is eyes gouged out, and his elbows broken. To have his knee-caps split, and his body burned away. And his limbs all hacked and mangled, Brave Sir Ron. His head smashed in, and his heart cut out. And his liver removed, and his bowels unplugged. And his nostrils raped, and his bottom burned off. And his penis split, and his-"

Ron's face was stark white as he cut the two off. "On second thought, maybe I don't need a theme song. Couple a loons." He muttered the last bit under his breath, glaring at Harry and Tonks as they laughed, leaning against each other for support.

"That was funny, where's it from, Harry?" Ginny asked, more curious about why this older woman was so close to Harry than anything else.

"Dudley, my cousin, always has his Telly on way too loud, and I could hear it through the walls." all the mirth left Harry's face, remembering that place.

"You mean you've never actually watched it yourself?" Tonks was amazed, he had remembered that whole song from hearing it once through the walls. The kid was good.

"They never really let me watch anything with them. It's amazing that I even know what the Telly looks like." Harry laughed once more, but it was empty. "I know as much about Muggle shows as most Wizards."

Sirius took that moment to walk into the kitchen, and upon seeing all the solemn faces, decided he needed to make a joke. "Everyone's so lively, I feel like I just walked into a funeral."

"Sorry, Sirius." Harry said, reflexively.

"It's okay, Harry." He walked over to the table. "Ron, my boy. I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to convince Molly to let you come with us."

"It's fine, I kind of did this to myself." He stood up. "Well, I shouldn't keep you guys from your trip. Harry, take care of Ginny, or I'll bop you a good one when you come back." He laughed as he hugged his best mate. "Ginny, Hermione, make sure he doesn't cause any trouble. We should save that for school." He hugged both girls briefly. "Bring me back something nice, guys." He waved to them all before leaving the kitchen and heading to his room.

"Shall we?" Sirius asked as he pulled a battered and dented rolling pin out of his coat.

"We have to go outside first, Sirius." Ginny reminded him.

"Of course, little missy." He said, giving a playful bow. They all walked out into the yard. "Alright, everyone take hold." once everyone had grabbed the pin, he tapped it with his wand, and they all felt that familiar tug behind their navels as the Portkey activated.

**Funny thing is, I had only planned on this being a one-shot. Harry goes to Norway, vague plot point happens, and he and Tonks get freaky. All that was supposed to happen in these nine pages. Friggin brain and it's over-active… thingies. **

**I purposefully glossed over the bank stuff, as most of it has been done in countless other fics, so I felt no reason to waste all that time re-hashing stuff you already know.**

**Next chapter will be most of, if not all of the Norway trip, and unless my plot runs away on me, or readers request it, the end.**

**Until next time, kitties.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm still alive. I know it's taken forever and a day for me to get this update up, but the job I'm working overlaps the time that I had always set aside for writing, and it's been hard to adjust my creative juices to the new schedule.**

**I'm pretty surprised by the response to this, I never expected 3 C2s, 23 Favorites and 53 alerts, especially with how many other (and likely better) Potter fics are out there. Thank you, and to the five wonderful people who took the time to write a review, a very special thank you. I always like hearing about what people like and don't like about a fic I'm writing.**

**Once again, any glaring mistakes I make, such as ages of characters are accidental, and I appreciate being informed of my screw-ups.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing concerned with the intellectual property known as Harry Potter. There is no profit made by me for this story, and only the plot is mine.**

**Without further ado…**

Harry found himself at the bottom of a very warm pile, and everything was so soft. He would have just stayed there, until he heard Sirius laughing. "I haven't seen that much woman on one bloke since your dad's fifth year, Pup."

The boy in question tried scrambling out from under the girls, and in his haste, his hands went to a few otherwise untouched areas, causing various squeaks and shouts from their owners. Once the tangle of limbs was sorted, with no shortage of blushing from the four, Harry waited for Sirius to stop rolling in the grass, laughing his arse off.

"So, where exactly are we staying, Sirius?" He asked, checking to make sure he hadn't lost his shrunken trunk in the chaos that was Portkeying.

"There's a nice little hotel just up the next hill that's owned by one of the local Wizard families. It gets it's fair share of Muggle visitors, so we'll have to be very careful with magic outside of the heavily warded Wizard section." He waved his hand non-chalantly, as if the statute of secrecy weren't that important. "So, without further ado, let's get a move on."

The group started walking down the path, the younger members finally having some control over their faces. Eventually, they reached their destination and saw a number of rows of large A-frame cabins. They followed Sirius into the first one, which was set up to be the office, as well as where the owners lived. A young woman with long blonde hair stood behind the long desk that ran along the back wall of the room, while a group of older gentlemen sat in front of a television, watching a show in a language that none of the young Magicals understood.

Sirius walked up to the desk and gave the young woman a charming smile. "Hello, my name is Sirius Black, I believe I have a reservation for five."

The girl returned his smile and began looking through her book. "Ah, yes, here you are, Mister Black. I see you requested one of our 'special' cabins. I have just the one for you." She reached under the table and pulled out three sets of keys and a small brochure. She also took out a small piece of paper and wrote something down on it. "These are your keys, and this brochure has all emergency contact information for the hotel." She pushed them forward before locking eyes with Sirius. "And if you need _anything_, sir, please do not hesitate to call this number." She tucked the scrap of paper into the pocket of his sport coat, fluttering her eyelashes seductively.

"I may just do that, thank you very much." Sirius responded as he picked up the keys and brochure. The group left the office and Harry rounded on his Godfather.

"Can't you go anywhere without flirting with the staff?"

"Hey, it's not my fault I've got those rugged good looks that girls like that go for," Sirius stated defensively, rubbing his beard. "besides, in case you didn't notice, she hit on me. I'm not going to turn down an offer from such a lovely young lady. You could learn a lot from me, Harry." He barked out his laughter, slapping the boy on the back.

"If Harry did that, he'd never get anything done." Hermione joked. In her mind, Harry had enough trouble keeping up with classes without being chased around by hordes of teenaged girls.

"Besides, little ol' Harry here has us to take care of." Tonks laughed as she put her arms around the shoulders of the two sputtering schoolgirls. Sirius noticed the prankster's grin on her face and wondered just how far she was going to push things during the trip.

"Ron would kill me if anything like that happened, Tonks." Harry managed to get out, fighting the images that were popping into his head. "I don't see something like that happening, anyway."

"Aww, why not, Harry? You've got a look that plenty of Wizards have to Glamour on in order to look half as good." Her smile quickly turned to a devious grin. "Besides, what witch in her right mind wouldn't want to have a go at the 'Boy-Who-Lived'?"

Harry's face shifted at the mention of his title. The blush disappeared, and any hint of pleasant emotion was gone. "Let's go find our cabin." He muttered, walking off without another word.

"What did I say?" Tonks asked, looking between the girls.

"We'll talk about it later, Tonks." Hermione answered. "After that, you can tell us what happened to Harry. He looks so-" She tried searching for the word, but came up short.

"Hot." Ginny finished for her, causing Hermione to blush.

Once they found the cabin, Harry quickly marched up the stone staircase and disappeared into one of the three bedrooms, locking the door. The girls looked around, leaving Sirius in the entrance hall to wonder what happened.

Hermione traced her fingers along the intricately designed wooden accents in each room. Having finally reached the room that they'd be sharing, Tonks locked the door and turned to the other two. "Right, so what did I do wrong? Harry looked like he'd seen a bloody Dementor."

Hermione sat on the edge of one of the beds and looked over the older witch. She wasn't sure, but her hair looked like it was a few shades darker than it was just a few hours ago. "Harry hates the whole 'Boy-Who-Lived' thing. It makes him feel like people aren't seeing him, just a trophy from a war that he never had a choice in."

"Adding to that, there's the fact that Harry has had a very bad life with his Aunt and Uncle, calling him 'Freak' or 'Abomination' every chance they got," Ginny added. She had learned a lot about Harry over the last year at Hogwarts. Not the least of which being that her fan-girling in her first year was not appreciated. "Harry doesn't like anything that makes him seem different from anyone else around him. It just proves his Uncle right, that Harry is weird, and a freak."

"And that's what I just did." Tonks sighed. 'Open mouth, insert wand. Way to go, girl.' she thought. "I really bollixed that up. I'm going to need to apologize to him, I think."

"I'd wait until dinner for that, give him a chance to organize himself." Hermione suggested. "With Harry, it's best if he's given time to figure out someone's intentions before he's comfortable."

"Not to mention it gives him time to realize that he over-reacted." Ginny giggled, and Hermione just gave her a look that seemed to say, 'You're not helping.' "Oh come on, Hermione, I know the last three years have been the only time he's been around people that actually care if he's okay, but I don't want him to start acting like my mum, always flying off her broom whenever someone questions the way they want things to happen. At least Harry realizes when he's mucked something up."

Tonks, knowing what she would have to do, stood up and pulled out her trunk. She tapped the rune on the lid, causing it to enlarge and pop open. "Since dinner will be soon, let's unpack."

"Alright, but while we're doing that; dish." Ginny demanded as she pulled out her own trunk.

"What?"

"Spill the beans. How'd Harry go from awkwardly cute boy to The-Stud-Who-Lived?" Ginny flushed as red as her hair, recalling how Harry was filling out his clothes rather than drowning in them.

"Oh, that." Tonks sighed, her hair turning an odd shade of violet. "Well, you see…" She began to tell them everything that had happened since she showed up at the Dursley household. Ginny and Hermione both laughed uproariously as Tonks described what Harry had done to the Dursleys, especially Dudley in knickers, flashing every colour of the rainbow. Their faces, however took on a vicious look when she told them about Harry's injuries.

Both Ginny and Hermione had known that Harry was no stranger to pain, they knew some of the things that had happened to him over the summers, not to mention the fact that he was routinely whomped on during Quidditch, but what Tonks told the two younger witches led them to believe that Harry hadn't even told them all of the easy stuff.

Tonks noticed the looks on their faces and wondered if either of them were going to try to pursue any sort of romantic relationship with the boy, as it was obvious that they cared more for him than a standard friend. 'Why am I thinking about that, it's none of my business.' She scolded herself. She continued with the story, how they went to Gringotts and Harry received his inheritance and what happened when he put on the Potter Ring.

"A Magical blockage?" Hermione muttered, more to herself than anyone else. There were only a few things that she had read about that could cause a blockage as severe as what Harry seemed to have gone through, she hoped that it wasn't the first two. The third, however… Hermione shook her head and blushed, realizing where her train of thought was going.

"Yup, apparently, it was such a severe blockage that it was stunting his physical growth as well." Tonks replied. "I'm surprised that it was as bad as it was."

"What do you mean?" Ginny inquired.

"Well, with as many cute witches as Harry seems to have about him, I just figured he was getting help." The Metamorphmagus answered simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Ginny was becoming a bit irritated at the aloof nature of the Junior Auror.

Tonks sighed heavily. It was a Mother's job to teach young witches about this crap, not hers. "When wizards are young, their magic starts to build up, sometimes it begins as early as seven, usually depending on how powerful they're going to be. Because of that, most wizards tend to hit puberty around ten or eleven. In order to alleviate the blockage, young witches are taught how to help wizards of the same age." She looked at the confused expression on the young Weasley's face. "But, knowing Molly, I'm pretty sure she feels that such a practice isn't 'proper' anymore." She laughed, seeing Ginny realize just what she was talking about. That is, until she saw Hermione's sheepish expression. "You knew about this, though, didn't you?"

Hermione nodded before slumping her shoulders. "I read about it, and thought about helping Harry, but I'm from a non-magical family, and that sort of thing is frowned upon."

"So, your hang-ups kept you from helping your friend? Wow."

"It's not just that!" Hermione nearly shouted. "I was the first person to ever hug Harry. At the age of eleven, Harry had never received a hug from anyone." She lowered her voice. "What was I supposed to say; 'I'm sorry no one's ever hugged you before. Now drop your trousers so I can-" Hermione clapped her hands over her mouth as she exploded into a blush that would make a tomato jealous. "Nevermind."

Tonks took a second to banish the thoughts she had about turning all of this into one great big prank. "Looks like I've got a lot to learn about Harry. Especially since he's the heir to the Black Family, now."

"He's what?" Both Ginny and Hermione exclaimed.

"Did I forget to mention that part?" Tonks asked, placing a finger on her chin. "Sirius has officially adopted Harry, and named him heir to the Black line."

"Is that normal? For someone to be a Head of a House, and be Heir of another?" Hermione asked.

"Not really. Usually, if two lines converge like this, the Head of House names his children one by one as heirs to a single House. But, I don't see Sirius having any kids of his own, on purpose, anyway, any time soon," Tonks joked, "so the easiest route was to name Harry the Heir, despite the fact that he's already Head of his own House."

"So, it's not normal?" Ginny asked. "And Harry's actually okay with this?"

"I think mostly he was just happy to have a family, so there is no way I'm going to point out that it's unusual. Especially now that I know what I do about him."

"As long as he's happy, that's all that really matters, right?" Hermione reasoned, just as unwilling to burst the boy's bubble.

"Hey, pups, dinner's ready!" Sirius called from the bottom of the stairs. The girls heard movement in the next room over before the door opened and shut quickly.

"Well, he's down there, let's get this over with." Tonks sighed as she opened the door.

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair. Harry sat there, pushing his potatoes around his plate, something he only seemed to do when he was trying to figure out a major problem. Tonks was similarly playing with her food, afraid to break the heavy silence, and settling for the occasional sheepish glance to Harry. Ginny and Hermione kept looking between the two, as if watching a slow motion tennis match, hoping that one of them would say something soon. Sirius, on the other hand was oblivious to the tension, and was going through a large stack of travel brochures.

"How about this one? 'See the loveli lakes, the wonderful telephone system,' I've always wondered how the Muggles get their voices to travel across those wires. 'and mani interesting furry animals. Including the majestik moose…' wait a minute." He groaned. "My bad, this one's for Sweden."

Tonks held a wide grin on her face. "You know, I've heard that Moose bites can be pretti nasti."

Hermione groaned pitifully at the joke the Metamorph had just played on her cousin. "You should be sacked." She muttered, earning a full-bodied laugh from the pink-haired girl.

"Wait, what just happened?" Sirius asked, confused about what exactly had occurred.

"Nothing, cousin of mine." Tonks replied, still giggling.

"Okay. So, what do you all want to do while we're here?" He cast a wary glance at the two girls that seemed to be sharing some kind of joke at his expense.

"I'd like to go here." Hermione piped up immediately, handing Sirius a pamphlet. "This library has the largest collection of ancient runework in the world." Her eyes sparkled with the promise of new knowledge.

"Leave it to Hermione." Ginny sniggered. "Of course your idea of holiday would be to go to a library to study."

Hermione was about to argue her point when Harry cut her off. "I kind of like that idea, we could make a day of it. I kind of want to figure out how to get around the magical interference for electronics. It would be nice to be able to watch the telly for once." He turned to see Hermione studying him intently. "Did I say something wrong again?"

"No." Her cheeks reddened slightly at having been caught staring. "I think this is the first time you've wanted to do something related to schoolwork on your own."

"Sorry, I'm trying to get better at that." He ducked his head sheepishly before turning back to Sirius. "Are there any Muggle amusement parks around here? Uncle Vernon wouls always leave me at home when they took Dudley to one, but he always looked like he had a lot of fun. I think it would be something Ginny would want to see."

'What did those monsters do to Harry for the last twelve years?' Tonks thought to herself. 'Even when talking about something he's wanting to do, he tries to make sure someone else is on board, too.' She noticed that Hermione was giving her a sad, knowing smile that seemed to say, 'I know, he's selfless to a fault.'

Ginny had nearly squealed at the chance to do something that her Dad hasn't even had a chance to do.

Swallowing the mouthful of mash she had, Tonks directed a question to Harry. "So, what do you want to do, then?"

Harry's gaze drifted down to his plate as he started pushing his food around again. "I don't really know, I'm really just glad to be somewhere other than the Dursley's right now. Maybe a picnic or something, if anyone else wants to, that is."

Tonks smiled. "I'll go with ya, Harry."

Harry's head shot up, obviously surprised that someone would agree to his suggestion. "Really?"

"Sure! I really put my wand in my mouth this morning because I didn't know how you felt about all that 'Boy-Who-Lived' stuff. So, what better way to get to know my newest cousin than a nice, quiet picnic?" 'And maybe later I could put _your_ wand in my mouth.' A voice in the back of her head chimed. "Where in Merlin's name did that come from?"

"Alright!" Sirius clapped his hands together. "The library for Hermione, amusement park for Ginny, and I'm pretty sure the owners of this place know a great place for your picnic, Harry. Sounds like a good basis for a vacation to me, and we can always see what else is out there while we take in the sights." He pushed away from his empty plate and stood up. "I, on the other hand, am going to go and enjoy the night-life, tonight."

"Don't stay out too long, Sirius, I think these three will want to start before noon." Tonks joked.

"No worries, little cousin of mine. I was planning on starting about nine. See you in the morning." And with that, he was out the door.

"What a horndog." She muttered before turning back to Harry. "Anyway, like I said, Herry, I'm sorry about the 'Boy-Who-Lived' comment. Every witch that grew up in the last twelve years heard story after story about you. Stories that, now that I've met your co-called family, I know to be a cart full of Thestral dung."

"No, I should apologize for overreacting. Like you said, 'every witch' has grown up hearing that romanticized bull shite. Sorry, Hermione." He apologized on instinct for his foul mouth. "Since I was locked up in a cupboard for ten years, I wasn't exactly in a position to tell people about the real me. Everyone has all these expectations about the kind of person I should be."

"I'll say this, though, Harry. You certainly fit the physical expectation, now." Ginny giggled, taking in the boy's newly enhanced features.

The teen in question groaned at that. "Just what I needed."

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione snapped, causing the boy that now towered so easily over her to shrink back. "I know that you're no used to honest compliments, even after three years, and how much you dislike the attention that comes from being famous, but we are your friends, we truly-" She stumbled over her words for a second, surely she was too young to use the first word that popped into her head. "care for you. And I know that none of us would say anything that was even just shy of the truth."

"I'm sorry." Harry sighed, hanging his head dejectedly.

"It's alright, Harry." Ginny assured him. "Do you really think we'll even let any of those crazy fan-girls anywhere near you?" 'Especially before I had my chance?' She added mentally.

"Says the recently reformed fan-girl." Hermione chuckled at the glare from the red-head.

"Hey now, she only said she'd keep the crazy ones off of him, probably thinks that'll give her an in." Tonks said, grinning, only for it to turn to full-blown laughter when Ginny began blushing and sputtering half-formed denials.

Harry had a slight smile on his face as he watched his friends rib each other. He cleared the table while they were busy giving Ginny grief, and was unable to stifle the yawn that came to him when he walked back into the dining room.

Tonks saw him and quickly cast _Tempus_, noticing that it had somehow gotten to be nearly midnight while they joked and talked. "Bloody hell, it got late. If we want to be able to drag Sirius out of bed in the morning, we better get off to sleep soon."

"Yea," Harry agreed. "of course, that'll only work if the old dog comes back to his own bed tonight."

Everyone had a good laugh before heading up the stairs to wash up. Saying their good nights, the girls went to their room, leaving Harry on his own. He quickly drifted off to sleep, only to have dreams of a blonde man wielding the Sword of Gryffindor against an army of what looked like blue-skinned giants. Behind him was his own army, nearly one hundred women wearing winged helmets. The women were hurling spells, arrows and other projectiles into the fray with deadly accuracy. Harry had never heard of such a battle, not even when he had managed to stay awake during Professor Binns' class. Harry was amazed by the prowess of not only the man he assumed to be Godric Gryffindor, but the women that fought by his side. All too soon, however, the dream ended, being quickly replaced by images of snogging a strangely familiar girl.

**WOOO! Who loves clichés? Let's see… Sirius is free: Check. Harry goes to Gringotts and finds out he is insanely wealthy: Check. Harry's Magical Core is suffering from a blockage: Check. A way to mitigate the blockage is sexual release: Check. Potential Marriage contracts: Check (read the Gringotts section again if you missed it.) Are there any I missed? It's hard to tell what's Canon and what's fanfic cliché, sometimes.. **

**I have been attacked by rabid plot Kneazels! (And I think a Snorkack took a crap in my shoes…) So this trip will be much longer than I had anticipated, and of course, they still have to go to the Quidditch World Cup before things can really take off. (And all I wanted was a one-shot…)**

**Send reviews, or beer. Either way, I'll see you next time, kitties.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm still alive. Sorry sorry sorry. My computer took a raging load on me, and I'm pretty sure I'm infested with wrackspurts. But, here it is, finally.**

**Over 125 alerts already. You love me, you really love me! Well, except for that one anonymous twat that claimed 'horrible OC characterization'. Funny, considering the only OC has been a random innkeeper's daughter, she had three lines and will likely never be seen again. (not much room for development, there.) A lot of you mentioned the fact that Ginny wasn't really a part of Harry's circle until much later, so this chapter is mostly going to cover why Ginny has a more active role this early. I was going to save it for later, but since you are all so curious, I'll give it to you now.**

**Once again, any glaring mistakes I make, such as ages of characters are accidental, and I appreciate being informed of my screw-ups.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing concerned with the intellectual property known as Harry Potter. There is no profit made by me for this story, and only the plot is mine.**

**Without further ado…**

Ginny Weasley was the first in the room to awaken. She had been having a pleasant dream, and it had reminded her of how she had managed to break away from the 'Hero Worship' that her mother had seemed hell-bent on instilling in her before she had reached Hogwarts.

Ginny had spent the entirety of the last Summer Holiday trying to think of a way to properly thank Harry for saving her from Tom and the Basilisk, a number of which were rather inappropriate for someone her age. She thought she had it all figured out, but the moment she had seen Harry at the Welcoming Feast, she was back to square one, also known as 'Blushing Fan-girl Mode'.

After nearly a week of stuttering, blushing and stalking, she was completely fed up with her little problem. She saw Hermione sitting near the fireplace in the common room, doing her homework. Harry and Ron had gone off after they had finished to play a game of Wizarding Chess, so the bushy-haired girl was on her own. Grabbing her own potion assignment, Ginny walked up to the older girl. "Umm…"

"Go ahead, Ginny, there's plenty of room." Hermione answered the unasked question, not even looking up from the parchment she was proof-reading.

Once that was settled, and unwilling to let her nerves get the better of her, the blushing red-head blurted out her question. "What's Harry like?"

The book-worm looked up suddenly, slightly shocked. "W-what?"

Blushing harder because at least one person in the room started sniggering, Ginny scooted closer to her brother's friend. "What is Harry like? As a person, I mean."

"You're the one that followed him around all year." Hermione smirked at the look of surprise on the younger girl's face. "Don't worry, the only time he even knew you were there was one time when I pointed you out." Ginny sighed in obvious relief. "I'm guessing this has something to do with the fact that the stories you've heard all your life don't mesh with the Harry you see over there." Hermione gestured behind her to where her first two friends were playing a rather heated game of chess.

"I don't really get it. My mum always told me about how Harry was this super-powerful knight in shining armour, and if I was a good little witch, he would come and sweep me off my feet." She looked up and flushed a little bit darker, realizing just how silly she sounded. "But, I look at him, and he's dressed barely better than Ron, and there's something in his eyes-" She sighed, thinking about those emerald orbs. "that I can't place."

Hermione smiled. "Though he'll never admit it, he is very much a knight in shining armour. He saved be from that troll in our first year, we followed him into a forbidden corridor to stop someone from stealing an important artifact, jumping down into the Chamber to save you without even a second thought as to whether he would live through it. He is the bravest person I've ever met, and is very special to me." She finally put down the scroll in her hands and chewed on her bottom lip slightly. "So what I'm about to tell you goes nowhere, okay, Ginny?" She waited for the Ginger to nod. "When Harry and Ron saved me from the troll, I was so scared and relieved that I threw myself on Harry and hugged him for all I was worth."

"Yeah, Ron told me about your hugs. Said he couldn't breathe proper for a week." Ginny laughed.

Hermione huffed indignantly, mumbling something about 'hugging' his neck. "The thing is, the second I touched him, he froze like he had been hit was a _Petrificus Totalis_. And when the professors arrived, wondering what we were doing out of the common room, he practically hid in his robes and started to apologize. Naturally your brother was no help, so I had to tell them what happened.

"Why would Harry act like that?" Ginny asked, more confused than when the conversation had started.

Hermione sighed. What she was about to do would be a breach of Harry's trust. She had worked two long years to earn it as fully as she had, and now she was putting it all at risk for this Ginger shadow. "I watched Harry the rest of the year. The way he acted around other people frightened me, as if he was expecting everyone to yell at him for one thing or another. Then, when we got off the Express at the end of the year, I saw his uncle waiting for him and the way Harry tried to make himself as small as possible. All summer long, I was doing a lot of reading to find out why."

"What did you find?" Ginny was on the edge of her seat, staring at the other girl.

"I have no proof, but I asked my mum and dad about it, and we all think that Harry shows signs of being abused. That is, after my dad stopped shouting every naughty word he could think of about the kind of people that would do that to a boy."

The shocked expression on Ginny's face told Hermione what she was going to say before it even reached her lips. "But, he's the Boy-Who-Lived! Who could do that to someone so important?"

"You have to keep in mind, Harry's being raised by non-Magical people that absolutely hate magic. They don't know he was responsible for You-Know-Who's death. To them, he's little more than a House Elf." Hermione sighed. "If you want to get to know Harry, you have to lose the idea of the Boy-Who-Lived, and think of Harry as Harry."

Ginny furrowed her brow, trying to think about what Hermione was saying to her. "I think I get it. Thanks, Hermione. Could you help me with my Potions essay, now?"

Hermione grinned, "Now there's an easy question."

After their little talk, Ginny could at least get a coherent greeting whenever Harry would wish her a good morning, and her tomato-esque blush was vanishing quickly. She still, however, had not been able to sit down and talk to Harry one on one, a fact that annoyed the youngest Weasley to no end.

That all changed on the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. Being a second year, Ginny wasn't able to go yet, so she simply followed Ron and his friends down to the entrance hall to bid them farewell. She was just about to head back to the common room when she heard Harry arguing with Professor McGonagall. His 'Guardians' wouldn't sign his permission slip, and so he wasn't allowed to go. Sensing a golden opportunity, Ginny walked up to Harry as he was getting ready to storm back to Gryffindor Tower.

"W-what happened, Harry?" Ginny stuttered.

"My uncle wouldn't sign the permission slip for Hogsmeade, so I get to be the only third year not going, today." He responded, trying not to snap at the younger girl.

"That's not nice. Why not?" She asked as she hurried to stay by his side.

"I'm sure he had his reasons." The raven-haired boy mumbled, not sounding very convinced, anymore.

"You mean besides being a royal arse?" Ginny quickly slapped her hands over her mouth, as if she expected her mum to pop up out of nowhere and wash her mouth out.

Harry, for his part, stared at the young girl for a moment, completely dumbfounded. He had often entertained the idea that his uncle Vernon wasn't so bad, that everything the Dursleys had done to him really was, as Vernon put it, for his own good. But hearing the words come out of this girl, a whole year younger than him, made him start to second guess that line of thinking. He let out a nervous laugh and his eyes shifted back and forth, fearing a similar guardianship manifestation. "Honestly, I'm not so sure, anymore."

They quickly arrived at the tower, and seeing that the common room was nearly empty, took one of the couches near the fireplace. The two of them spent the afternoon talking about the upcoming Quidditch season, what kinds of torture Oliver Wood had in store for the year, and whether or not Harry had any strategies he would use against any particular house. That was when Fred and George decided to walk in.

"If it isn't our favorite Seeker-" Fred started.

"And our most favored sister-" George continued.

"Getting cozy on a couch." They finished together.

Ginny gave an indignant huff as Harry just looked down. "Need I remind you that I'm your only sister?"

"Not true." George chided.

We know you heard Ronnikins scream when we dropped that charmed rubber spider in his lap." Fred laughed evilly.

Harry smiled at that. "It was pretty girly."

That was Ron?" She was shocked, to say the least. She thought it had been one of the first year girls getting pranked.

"Indeed, it was a wonderful time." George joined his twin in laughter.

"Gin-Gin, could we borrow Harry for a moment? We have something to give him."

"Yeah." She replied reluctantly.

When Harry came back, he showed her the Marauder's Map and the secret passage to Honeyduke's. Ginny was glad that after only a short day of talking, Harry trusted her enough to share this with her. 'It's probably because Fred, George and Ron are my brothers.' She reasoned.

After that, Ginny had begun to eat with the Golden Trio. Even with the attack against the Fat Lady half way through the year, Ginny had managed to strike up an easy friendship with them. She had even, much to Ron's annoyance, snuck out with Harry during the next Hogsmeade visit. They had a great day, even scaring the pants off of Malfoy and his goons, quite literally.

Not everything was roses, she remembered as she stepped into the shower in the cabin. She had been getting a strange feeling whenever she showered at night. Especially after the attack on the Fat Lady. At first, she chalked it up to nerves and the Dementors skulking around the grounds. Why would someone be watching her? Unfortunately, the feeling persisted.

One day, in the middle of the spring term, Ginny couldn't take it anymore, and she plopped down on the couch across from Harry and Hermione. "I can't take this anymore!" She hissed.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked, confused by the sudden outburst.

"Ginny think's someone's been watching her." Hermione mumbled, not looking up from Harry's Potions essay.

"What's the problem? Just tell them to stop." Harry shrugged.

"It's not that easy. I haven't seen this person, and it only happens…" She trailed off, her cheeks tinged pink.

"Where?" Harry leaned forward in his seat, trying to hear her.

"The shower." She whispered quickly, hoping no one else heard her.

"Why would someone do that?" Harry asked, obviously clueless. "Well, that doesn't matter. We can find out easily enough."

"How?" Both girls turned to him.

Harry looked around the common room, and, seeing they were alone, pulled out the Marauder's map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

They all looked over the map, and noticed that the bathrooms were indeed indicated, leading one to wonder just how much exploring the so-called Marauders had done. "It looks empty now, Ginny." He said, looking intently at the map. "Go ahead and shower. We'll watch from hereto see if anyone goes in."

Ginny's blush, which had diminished almost completely since she had begun talking to Harry, returned in full force. "Y-you're g-g-going to watch m-e sh-sh-shower?" She managed to stutter out, eyes blinking owlishly.

"Well, yeah. How else are we supposed to figure out who-" Harry was cut off by a light smack to the back of the head from Hermione.

"I'll watch the map, Ginny. If I see anything unusual, I'll tell Harry." She said with an exasperated sigh.

So Ginny went up to shower, and sure enough, she felt eyes on her once again. She washed herself as quickly as she could and returned to the two sitting in the common room. Harry had a confused expression on his face, and Hermione was biting her bottom lip. "Well?"

"Peter Pettigrew." Harry croaked out.

"That's not possible!" Ginny hissed. "Sirius Black killed him, along with twelve Muggles."

"Professor Lupin was friends with him, your father and Black, wasn't he, Harry?" Hermione asked, seeming to remember something that had come up in a conversation long ago.

Harry nodded slowly before his eyes lit with a determined fire. He snatched the map out of Hermione's hands, ran up to his dorm and blurred out of the common room.

"What was that about?" Ron asked, seeing his best mate fly like a bat out of Hell.

"I think Harry just went to see Professor Lupin." She responded. She had a feeling things were about to get interesting.

"Oh, come one, it's Saturday." Ron whined.

It had taken about a week for them to prove what they had seen, and another couple of days to get a plan put together in order to catch the peeping Tom… err, Peter. Ginny was to go into the showers and make like she was getting ready for bed. Hermione, being the only other female in the group was to hide underneath Harry's invisibility cloak with the Marauder's Map, ready to stun their target. Professor Lupin stood outside under a disillionment spell, along with Harry, and Ron stood confused, holding onto his rat cage.

"Alright, miss Granger should be in position now." Remus whispered, not wanting to wake any of the unsuspecting students so late into the night. "Miss Weasley, if you would, please."

Ginny nodded nervously. Part of her didn't want to catch this person, then she wouldn't have to come to terms with someone having watched her in the shower. The rest of her was fired up, a likely byproduct of her hair colour. She was going to beat this person within an inch of their lives for taking her security away from her. At least she had Harry. Well, sort of. Something about him kept her feeling safe.

As she walked into the showers, she looked into the corner where she knew Hermione would be, and gave a nearly imperceptible nod. She received a light tap on the tile in return, letting the younger girl know that she was ready. Ginny walked over to her usual shower stall and began to get herself ready, sliding her jumper off and placing it into the cubby hole next to her. She reached to her side and began to unbutton her skirt when she heard "_Petrificus Totalis!_" echo off of the walls, followed by a loud squeak. Turning around, Ginny saw Scabbers sitting, totally motionless, in the center of the room.

Hermione threw the cloak off, her wand still trained on the rat. "Get dressed, Ginny. We caught a dead man." She then uses _Wingardium Leviosa_ to levitate the rat out of the room.

Ginny couldn't help but laugh as she remembered how confused and angry Ron had been when he saw the bound Scabbers float through the door. Ginny quickly shook her head, bringing herself back to the present. She was on a trip with Harry, Hermione and the two funniest non-Weasley jokers she'd ever met, it wouldn't do to miss any of the fun because she was reminiscing.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she heard a quiet moan come from Harry's room. 'He forgot to activate the silencing charm. Typical boy.' She thought. When she heard another moan, she became curious, and snuck over to where the sound was coming from. Kneeling down, she peeked through the keyhole. She had to clap both hands over her mouth in order to not give herself away.

Harry woke up from one of the most pleasant dreams he'd ever had. A beautiful girl, whose face he couldn't quite place, no matter how familiar it seemed had been snogging him silly. Groaning at the light that shone through the blinds, Harry noticed that his trousers felt impossibly tight. Flipping off the covers, he saw the large tent protruding from his hips. "That's never happened before." He whispered, not wanting to wake anyone else. 'What am I concerned about, there are silencing charms on the rooms.' he slipped his trousers off to get a better look at what was going on. "This must be what Seamus referred to as 'Morning Wood.' Bloody annoying, that's what it is. What am I supposed to do with this, now? Someone's bound to wake up soon." sighing heavily, he remembered one of the books that had fallen out of Hermione's bag one day. It had been labeled as a 'Romance Novel'. she had disappeared before he could give it to her, so he held onto it for the day, until curiosity got the better of him and he opened it up to a random page. The page had described the hero having one off at the wrist in front of his lover. Harry had been bright red almost all day long, and his hands were shaking when he had snuck the little orange book back into her bag.

Realizing that his 'problem' wasn't likely to go away any time soon, Harry wrapped his fingers around the base and gave it a few awkward tugs. When a slight tingle ran up his spine, he continued, small groans and gasps leaking out of his mouth.

Ginny was at a complete loss as to what to do. There was Harry, pleasuring himself dierctly in front of her. The heat in her face was reaching astronomical proportions, and, so engrossed in her free show, she failed to notice the footsteps of one bushy-haired girl.

"Ginny? What are you doing in front of Harry's room?" Hermione asked.

Ginny let out a small 'Eep' before whirling around, cupping her hand over the older girl's mouth and pulling her level with the keyhole. "Look for yourself." She hissed.

Hermione put her eye to the small opening, and Ginny watched the bookworm blush furiously before feeling the girl's mouth drop open in a small 'Wow'. She pulled her hand away from Hermione's mouth and waited for a response.

"We shouldn't be doing this, Ginny. It's wrong to spy on Harry like this." She whispered, unwilling to take her eyes away from the sight.

"Yet your eye's still glued to the keyhole." Ginny countered. She pushed her friend over a little so she could get another look. It was mesmerizing.

Tonks woke up to an empty room. 'Huh, guess they're early risers.' She thought as she rolled out of bed, and immediately crashed to the floor. "Oh bullocks." She groaned. She really hated when her form shifted while she was asleep. It totally threw off her center of balance. Getting up, she headed out into the hall. The first thing she noticed were the two girls crouching in front of Harry's door. 'Hmm, wonder what's got them all a titter.' She used every last bit of her Auror training to sneak up on the younger girls. Kneeling down, she caught a glimpse of what they were drawn to. 'Sweet Merlin's staff! He's too young for something that big.' she quickly shook her head. And decided to have a bit of fun with all three of them. She leaned in real close to the girls' ears, and in a tone very reminiscent of Ollivander, "Hmm, ironwood, about nine and one half inches. Hard as steel, yet soft to the touch. Apparently quite good at charming young ladies spying on their friends."

Ginny and Hermione both nodded dumbly. That is, until they realized that they had another guest. Both girls jumped up just as Harry let out a long moan and released. Ginny and Hermione, in their confusion bumped their heads together and went tumbling through the door, startling a very sticky Harry off the far side of his bed. Tonks just stood over the two girls laughing at their tangled limbs. When Harry's head popped up over the side of the bed, Tonks, still grinning like a mad woman, waved to the boy. "Wotcher, Harry!"

**So, there we go. Ginny was part of the better mouse trap, and the girls caught Harry in a compromising position. What's going to happen next? No really, I have no idea!**

**Just so you know, there is a poll on my page right now, thanks to my overactive imagination, I have a half dozen ideas and I want to know if you want to see any of them. Also, separate from that, is another Potter fic named Harry Potter, Battlemage: Rise of a Marauder. It came about while I was thinking about ideas for Gift of Freyr, and it just exploded. I will be posting the first chapter shortly, so be on the look out.**

**Send reviews, or beer. Either way, I'll see you next time, kitties.**


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